Every stepmom I know heaves a giant sigh of relief when the holiday custody schedule is agreed upon each year. It can be a spot of contention, and reaching an agreement brings so much relief to all involved. In our family, it's often when I can really let my hair down, enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, and crank the holiday music up loud. It's not usually as simple as determining who will have the kids ... Read the Post
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The Stepmom’s Guide to Holiday Gifts
Three years ago, my stepdaughter's mom's family lived with us during the holidays. You might remember that I'm a little crazy for Christmas... so I put up a Christmas tree in nearly every room of the house. One of the trees was designated for their Christmas presents, and one for ours. As more presents were wrapped, I began to notice just how many more presents they had purchased for my ... Read the Post
So you don’t have your stepkids December 25th…
Blended family holidays amplify the already-complicated dynamics stepmoms navigate everyday. You're thrilled to have the kids in your home on your custodial time, but the house feels eerily quiet when they're at their other home and the holiday commotion slows down. These feelings of longing for normalcy are compounded when we look around and everyone else is celebrating their holidays without ... Read the Post
Halloween Treats: All You Can Eat!
If you think there's a better way to celebrate October 31st than by eating a bunch of Halloween treats, I will fight you. JUST KIDDING. There are plenty of other Halloween traditions you can participate in that are just as fun - trick or treating, TRUNK or treating, scary movie marathons, haunted houses, Halloween crafts, pumpkin carving... Really, the list goes on and on. Halloween can be SO ... Read the Post
The Key to Stepparent Discipline
Divorced parent guilt is real, y'all. This can easily lead to unstructured free-for-all homes with limitless screen time, questionable nutritional standards, and a house void of rules. Upon remarriage, structure is often introduced with new routines, meal plans, and stepparent discipline. When stepmom enters the scene, she begins to pick up any perceived slack. She has read up on best ... Read the Post